The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1887-07-07
NEW CANNIBAL TRIBES.
DISCO Ser;es of Captain Van GeIe Along the
x.reat MobanYi River.

DISCO ceres Of Captain Van Cello Along the
ureat Mobangt River.
Last fall the Congo State sent Captain
Van Gele, one of Stanley's favorite Off
GERS. in the steamer Henry Reed to
make further explorations upon the
Mobangi river, the great northern affiu-
ent of the Congo, whose importance Mr..
Grenfell was the first to discover. Van
Gele did not ascend the river quite as
far as Grenfell. being prevented by
rapids through which Grenfell had been
able to push his steamer at low water
when the current was slower. He,
however. took time to explore. while
Grenfell's journey was nothing more
than hurried reconnaissance. Van
! Gele made some very interesting dis
cOveries. He found, for instance, three
little tributaries, up which he pushed
his steamer for total distance of 207
miles. 1t is only three years since
Stanley estimated that the Mobangi
itself added only about $50 miles to the
navigable waters of the Congo basin.
Now the problem is, whether the Mo-
bangi or the Kassai deserves distinction
as the CongO's greatest tributary.
On the Nghiri affluent of the river
and also on the Mobangi, about 800
miles from its mouth, Van Gele found
the most densely populated districts he
had seen in Africa. The left bank of
40 -R.ix- tar.r faH
succession of villages for about seventy
miles. Those who imagine that the
depths of Africa are an almost voiceless
solitude should read Van Gele's brief
account of the animation and hustle he
witnessed all along this populous river.
The scene on the river in the morn
ing, he says. is one of extraordinary
animation. He often met as many as
three hundred canoes swiftly plowing
through the water. The canoes were
chiefly filled with women and children.
The women were leaving the villages
to go to the fields and begin the agri-
cultural labors of the day. Other par
ties in the canoes were setting out for
the fish nets, to gather in the finny
harvest that had collected since the
previous day. The river swarms with
fish. the land yields rich returns of all
tropical produce, and thousands of
natives along the river do not know
what famine means. They have, be-
sides, food resources upon which most
of the world can not count, as these
natives are among the greatest of CAN
nibals.
Quite number of men accompany
the women to the fields, but not to take
part in tilling the soil. They let the
women monopolize the rude iron hoes,
while the men stand around with
weapons in their hands to protect the
toilers. Without protection there is
always danger that the women will be
surprised and dragged off by hostile
tribes.
All these river tribes send expeditions
against one another for the sole pur-
pose of procuring victims for their can
nibal feasts. Captain Van Gele says
that all the enemies they kill in battle
are eaten. and that the same fate soon
overtakes the prisoners they carry home
with them. Before the exploration OF
the Congo Valley the belief was wide
spread that cannibalism had greatly
decreased, and that there were COM
paratively few people who were still
addicted to the horrid practice. In all his
travels, Livingstone never saw canni-
bal tribe with the possible exception OF
the Mauyema. But the opening up OF
the Congo basin has revealed the fact
that the world never knew before where
cannibalism was most prevalent. There
are undoubtedly hundreds of thousands
of people in that region among whom
cannibalism is a confirmed and most
cherished habit.
Captain Van Gele says that nowhere
in Africa has he seen fishers of equal
extent except at Stanley Falls. The
stakes marking the position of the nets
cover many acres. All these tribes are
tall and powerful, and in form they are
splendid specimens of physical beauty.
N. Y. Sun.